About 1/16th of an inch into the skin. Not so scary, right? The tattoo machine's needle aims to deposit the ink in a region of 1.5 millimeters to 2 millimeters below the surface of the skin.
If done correctly, the needle should go about 1.5 to 2 millimeters under the skin. While not likely, there is a possibility that a tattoo needle could go too far and puncture the hypodermis and rupture a vein.
While tattoos on fat areas tend to be less painful, tattoos on bony areas can be the most painful due to the needle hitting the bone directly. However, the sensation of getting a tattoo on muscle areas is often described as a dull ache that is easier to tolerate.
The tattoo needle punctures your skin around 100 times per second, with the aim of depositing the ink in a region of 1.5 to 2 millimeters below the surface of the skin. The reason for this depth of penetration is to bypass the outer layer of the skin, or the epidermis.
While some redness, swelling, and scabbing is normal during the healing process, excessive pain, bleeding, and scarring may be a sign that the needle was too deep.
When a tattooer doesn't go deep enough with their needles, the tattoo won't stick and will be more prone to rapid fading. Blowouts occur when a tattooer inks too deep and they're the result of tattoo ink spilling throughout the layers of skin.
Too deep and the ink will disperse into surrounding areas. It's this dispersing that leads to ink looking smudged or blurry. This is also known as a blowout.
When you get a tattoo, the ink is inserted via needle into the dermis (the second layer of skin). Your body sees this ink as a foreign invader, and activates the immune system to seek out and destroy the unfamiliar material.
Tattoo machines go anywhere from four to 12 volts. Most tattoo machines should run anywhere from 7.5 to 8.5 volts when you're designing on the skin, although you can go to nine volts when you're lining the tattoo.
Generally speaking, the most painful places to get a tattoo will be on the boniest areas of the body or placements that sit over concentrated hubs of nerve endings. It will hurt less to get a tattoo on the areas where there is less body fat, more muscle or fewer nerve endings.
The nerve damage caused by IV insertion and/or venipuncture can be permanent and severe. Some patients lose feeling in hand and through arm or experience periodic or constant burning sensations. IV nerve damage can also occur in the central nervous system line and in the neck, but usually occurs in the arm and hand.
Tattoos reduce stress
Cortisol is a stress hormone. It was tested in the study because cortisol is an immune response suppressant. Multiple tattoos were found to reduce cortisol levels, improving the immune system benefits of tattoos, but also helping with stress reduction.
He and his colleagues have found that individuals who frequently get tattoos appear to have higher levels of certain immune molecules, including antibodies, in their blood than people who rarely get inked (at least for a brief time).
The immune system may actually be slightly weakened following a new tattoo, potentially putting the body "at a disadvantage if a new tattoo ends up inflamed, infected, or triggering allergies," Wu writes.
With the needle running, dip into water and drag the needle along a paper towel to “empty out” the buildup inside the cartridge. After rinsing, you can also re-dip your needles back into the pigment to get full-strength pigment.
If your tattoo is very new, it is likely that the lines feel raised and swollen simply because they are a bit swollen. Your new tattoo is an open wound, and the impact of the tattooing process will usually result in some swelling.
The Chance of Getting Nerve Damage is Extremely Small
Although unlikely, it is possible to get nerve damage, because the tattoo artist is injecting ink into your skin, and there is always room for error, no matter how small. It is an invasive procedure that deserves respect and should not be taken lightly.
Pick a quality tattoo artist
Skin cells in the epidermis, the outer layer of skin, renew themselves much more often than the deeper layers. This means that if the ink is not delivered deep enough – into the dermis - it's way more likely to fade faster.